Days, weeks, months, half a year passed by as I was trying to get over Tony. Going back to my family after breaking up with him wasn't easy. It was embarrassing, humiliating, to go back there and admit that I had failed. I hadn't told my mother what had really happened between Tony and I – I just wasn't able to bring myself to tell her that Tony had cheated on me – so I had just told her that our relationship just hadn't worked out and breaking up was for the best.

I had gone from living in a house with my boyfriend back to living in my tiny bedroom. I had gone from being free, being an adult, to being my old self and I didn't like it. San Diego had started to feel like a home to me and while it had become more and more like my real home, New York had become less my home. I didn't like living in New York anymore but I had no choice.

My heart had been broken and torn into millions of little pieces. My first nights in New York had been absolutely awful. I had cried myself into sleep, just thinking about Tony and what he'd done to me. But then – now – half a year later, I thought I was finally getting over him. Slowly and carefully, I had started to remove memories of him from my head. I had started focusing on positive things and was finally able to look at other guys. I had even gone out with some guys and invited them back to my place. But I wasn't able to have sex with them. The memory of Tony and myself on our last day together haunted me. The memories of us having sex wouldn't leave my mind and whenever I tried to get into bed with somebody else, Tony's face flashed in my eyes and I just couldn't do it.

Apart from that, I was getting very well over him. I hadn't talked to nor contacted him in six months and he hadn't tried to get a hold of me, either, which just made it easier for me to forget all about him. I had, on the other hand, been in touch with Vic. He had been such a great friend to me and had listened to me whine about my problems and I was really thankful for that.

The best part was, that after six months, I was finally going to see Vic. Vic, and the band, which unfortunately meant Tony, too, were touring around the States and their next stop would be in New York. Vic had promised to take me out on a lunch and I was beyond excited to see him.

”Mom? I'm going out,” I exclaimed, ”I'm not sure when I'll be back!” I grabbed my keys from the table and headed out of our apartment. I was getting sick and tired of living with my family. The worst was my mother who just had to know everything about my life and I never really got to be alone without anybody bothering me. But as I left, there was a smile on my face because I would get to see one of my best friends.

I opened the door and stepped into a quiet restaurant. My eyes ran over the empty tables and chairs until they landed on a guy who was sitting in the corner table and staring at his phone. I started walking to him and when I reached the table, I sat down on the other side of it, right in front of him. Vic lifted his head up and looked me into my eyes before revealing a big smile and pulling me into a hug over the table.

”You look good, Abby,” he told me, ”And it's so good to see you.”

”You too,” I nodded and grinned like an idiot, ”I've missed you!”

”You really do look good. How have you been, everything alright?”

”Uh... Yeah,” I nodded and looked down, ”It's been hard but everything is finally getting better.”

”Are you talking about Tony?” he asked quietly.

”Yeah... It's hard not to think about him and what he did to me. He really hurt me,” I said and sighed.

”Abby... He hasn't really been himself after you left,” Vic told me. Oh... I didn't know what to say.

”I didn't tell him that I was coming to see you,” he continued, ”He would've followed me or something. He's too afraid to call you but if he ran into you... I don't know, Abby, it sucks to see my friend being so miserable.”

”He has nobody but himself to blame for that,” I whispered.

I wasn't happy about the situation. Knowing that Tony had been feeling so low didn't make me feel any better. But for fucks sake, he really didn't have anybody else to blame but himself. He was the one who had decided to jump into his ex's bed, wasn't he?

Vic and I chatted for a long time and both of us tried our very best not to bring Tony up in our conversation again. Two or even three hours later Vic said that he should start heading back to their venue.

”Hey, do you want to come watch the show tonight? I could get you some backstage passes, you could bring a friend or two, whatever,” he said suddenly.

”Uh... I don't know,” I grimaced, ”I don't think that's a very good idea.”

”Are you sure? I mean, if it's about Tony...”

”It is about Tony,” I said and sighed, ”Everything is about Tony. I just don't want to run into him, not after I've just started getting over him.”

”Please come to the show, Abby,” Vic said, ”You don't even have to come backstage. You can hang out in the audience or something.”

”He won't know I'm there, will he?”

”No, I promise.”

”Fine, okay, then.”

Vic and I said our goodbyes and after that he headed back to the venue while I made my way back home. I was nervous and freaking out when I even thought of being in the same building – same room – with Tony. What if, after all, he would see me? What if we ran into each other? We wouldn't, I thought and shook my head, there would be hundreds of people, maybe even thousands, he wouldn't nor even could spot me.

I placed my keys back on the table after coming back home. My mom was sitting in the kitchen and I sat down with her for a moment.

”Who did you meet?” she asked right away and put her magazine down.

”Uh... An old friend,” I told her, ”Back from San Diego.”

”Was it one of Tony's friends?” she asked and furrowed her eyebrows.

”It was one of our friends, mom.”

”But you didn't see Tony, did you, darling?”

”Of course not, no,” I shook my head.

”Good. I was worried.”

”Mom... I'm an adult, you don't need to be worried about me,” I mumbled.

”Of course I do, Abigail. You moved all the way to San Diego for this boy and came back home with a broken heart. No mother wants to see her daughter in pain,” she told me. I didn't know what to say but I knew she was absolutely right.

Later that night, when I arrived at the venue, I was nervous again. I swallowed hard and walked in behind a bunch of girls and guys. I had my backstage pass with me and the security guys tried to get me backstage but I told them that I'd much rather be in the audience with everybody else. Weird looks were exchanged but I only shrugged it off before walking into where everybody else was. Once the show started and everybody had gotten their place, I took my place in the back of the people and watched the show.

And my god, when Tony walked on stage... The music was loud and the people around me were screaming but when I saw him, everything and everyone else seemed to disappear. I could only see him standing there on stage with his guitar with a big grin on his face. And let me tell you, he looked even better than I had remembered. He looked good, really good, and I could barely take my eyes off him. His eyes were scanning over the crowd but fortunately he didn't notice me and I could focus on the other guys and their performance, too.

The show was really good and it was good to see Jaime and Mike, too. But it was weird that they were all my friends, at least they used to be, and everybody was there to see them play their songs.

When all of the bands had finished playing and the whole show was finally over, I was glad that I had been standing in the back because I was one of the first ones to get out of the building. I hadn't seen Tony or any of the other guys after they had gotten off the stage and I was in a hurry to leave because I wanted to keep it that way. I got out and started quickly walking down the street with a bunch of other people. Everybody was buzzing about the show and I just kept walking and staring at the ground in front of my feet.

That is, until I walked into somebody. A pair of strong arms grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to another, a lot more quiet street. I would have screamed if they hadn't slammed their hand over my mouth. I was being pushed against a hard wall and my back hit it with a thump. I lifted my face up and my eyes met... Tony's eyes. When he saw that I had noticed him, he pulled his hand back and allowed me to open my mouth.

”What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind? I thought you were going to rape or rob me – ” Before I could finish what I was saying, he slammed his hand over my mouth again.

”I knew you would start screaming,” he told me, ”Promise not to shout.” I glared at him but nodded anyway after a moment. He pulled his hand away again.

”What do you want?” I spat at him and pushed him away from me.

”I just want to talk,” he said and lifted his hands up as he took a few steps away from me.

”Why can't you do it like a normal person?” I muttered.

”I didn't want to attract anyone's attention,” he said quietly, ”I'm sorry.” I guess I understood his reasons for acting so weird. But it was creepy anyway.

As he stood in front of me, I couldn't help but admire his body. He looked really good, even though he had his black hoodie on with the hood over his head and he reminded me of somebody who was about to rob a bank. But there he was, standing in front of me, my ex-boyfriend who I never wanted to see again. As he looked at me, I melted. I didn't think I could be angry at him. I didn't think I could hate him. I was getting soft under his gaze.

”So, uh...” I cleared my throat, ”What exactly did you want to talk about?”

”I came to get you back. I want you to come back home. I want you to come back to me, Abby,” he told me and stared into my eyes the whole time. I swallowed hard. Oh my god.